


Back in Time

by Cumbermarvel (UglyJackal)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-23 07:23:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14929784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UglyJackal/pseuds/Cumbermarvel
Summary: Tony takes Stephen out to do something he hasn't done for years.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Idea came from this post:  
> http://too-much-time-in-space.tumblr.com/post/174828217725
> 
> Chapter One: Tony looks at photos  
> Chapter Two: Tony surprises Stephen

Tony hadn't seen any pictures around the Sanctum. Sure, he had seen enchanted (and cursed) paintings, but he had never seen the personal ones. The ones with the lovingly worn frame corners from where the Sorcerer Supreme's scarred hands had picked it up, looked at it while lost in a memory, or moved it to another table. The ones in grainy black and white, showing the age of the picture. The ones of family, friends, pets. But that was another life for Stephen.

Although he had matured and grown accustomed to being Sorcerer Supreme and his powers, he still considered himself a different person prior to his accident. He had been a selfish man, poisoned by the fame that rushed to his head from his success, he had refused patients because they were too "risky" and he couldn't "ruin his perfect record". The fact that his accident had happened while he had refused a patient was probably the height of karma. He deserved it. All of it.

It was this answer that Stephen gave when Tony asked one day, why there were no photos, no personal touches.

'Do you have any?' the engineer asked, 'I'd love to see a wittle baby Stephen.'

Stephen rolled his eyes, not fighting the amused smile that crept onto his face at the baby talk. 'I have a few,' he said, 'but... they aren't that interesting.'

Tony felt his boyfriend's walls starting go up. 'It's alright, you don't have to show me if you don't want to.'

The wizard sighed and shook his head. 'No,' he said, 'I do want to show you. They're from a very long time ago, and there are good memories. But I'm not that person anymore.'

'No, you're not,' Tony said, and Stephen looked up, hurt on his face, 'you're better.' The sorcerer smiled at that and went to get his photos.

Tony had been expecting a large dusty photo album. But what he got instead was a very thin, very worn envelope. It was browning at the edges, which showed its age, but aside from that, it was in pristine condition. Stephen looked at it for a moment before holding it out to Tony, who took it carefully, as though it would turn to dust the moment he touched it.

He opened it and inside were five pictures. He pulled them out, the white side facing him, and felt the laminated feel that came with old photographs. He turned them over and immediately saw a gappy-toothed kid in a riding helmet and jodhpurs holding the reins of a dark-coloured horse that towered over him. It was impossible to tell what colour the horse was, what with the photo being black and white; the horse had the look of a tired old man that had seen everything. Tony looked carefully at the kid; he had the same long face as the sorcerer before him, and it was bemusing to see that Stephen was shorter than something.

'That was my first riding lesson,' Stephen said, now sitting beside him and looking at the photo with a small smile on his face, 'that horse was wonderful; absolutely bombproof. He was named Jake.'

Tony smiled. 'I'm amazed that you were shorter than him,' he said.

As Stephen chuckled, Tony looked at the next photograph, which showed a much older Stephen trotting on a lighter coloured horse. Stephen looked a teenager in this photo, and he was dressed in a smart black riding jacket, with a look of deep concentration on his face. Tony wasn't very clued up on horse stuff, but it looked like he was in a dressage ring.

'That was a competition that I went to,' the sorcerer said, 'that horse was a handful, but he excelled at dressage. He was called Ying. And yes, there was a black horse called Yang, and yes, I rode him too.'

'Did you win in this competition?' Tony asked.

'Third,' Stephen said, 'I didn't make a flying change properly, and knocked a pole down in the jumping round.'

'That's still good.'

'Thank you.'

The next photo was rather blurry, which was understandable because Stephen was galloping across a field on a black horse. He couldn't quite make out any fine details, but he could see a grin on the teenager's face, as he was bent low over the horse's neck. 'Is this Yang?' he asked.

Stephen nodded. 'He was more of a cross country horse, I swear he could gallop for hours.'

Tony smiled at the affection in his boyfriend's eyes as he spoke about the horses that he loved so much.

The fourth photo was a picture of Stephen landing a jump on a patched horse. In this one, he had casual clothes on and was in what looked like a sandy arena.

'I was demonstrating a good jumping position there,' Stephen explained and his voice seemed strained. When Tony looked at him, he saw tears in his icy blue eyes. Immediately, the engineer grabbed his boyfriend's hand. 'Sorry,' he said, wiping at his eyes, 'that horse was called Pie... he had this issue where he would kick if someone was around his back end, because he was abused. This woman would whip him, and he thought that people behind him would hurt him. We developed a bond that was stronger than any other relationship that I've ever had - before you, of course,' he added as Tony looked mock-hurt, 'and the day that he allowed me to walk behind him... it was amazing. Everyone was stunned, they thought he was a lost cause, but it me and only me that was able to do that.'

'What happened to him?' Tony asked.

Stephen sighed and clenched his fists. A look of anger crossed his face. 'A young kid... she was stuck up, thought she knew better than what I told her. I said to her, "groom the others, but not Pie, let me do him". But no, she was good with horses, she said, and she could handle him. I told her not to and then went to get some tack,' he said, 'I should have went to groom Pie straight away, I shouldn't have left her alone. But she went and groomed Pie. And she got kicked.'

The engineer inhaled sharply. 'And then?' he asked when Stephen was quiet for a moment.

'Her parents... fought to get Pie destroyed,' the wizard said, voice weary and sad, 'they threatened to sue if Pie wasn't put down. I yelled at them, I told them that it was their precious daughter's fault, I told them that I told her not to go in with Pie... but they argued that the riding school shouldn't have an aggressive horse in their care. I was fighting a losing battle. I begged my parents to let me buy him, to save him... but we lived on a corn farm, with three horses to care for already, and we couldn't afford to care for another one. So I had to say goodbye. It was the worst day of my life, even worse than the accident.'

Tony scooted closer to his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around him. Stephen, to his surprise, didn't cry, though a few tears slipped down his cheeks at the memory, he didn't break down into grief-induced sobbing as Tony expected him to. 'It's been so long since Pie died that I can think about him without the pain now,' Stephen said, 'I left the school when Pie was taken away in the trailer, I just couldn't bear to look at that girl afterwards, knowing that she caused my best friend's death. And she was fine, only a bruise on her thigh.'

They sat together like that for a few minutes, until Stephen showed Tony the last picture in the envelope. It was a black and white picture of Stephen and Pie standing together. Stephen had his arm slung around Pie's neck and the side of his head was pressed to the side of the horse's. Pie had no tack on, and it looked as though they were standing in a grassy field. 'This is my favourite picture of all of them,' he said, the picture trembling in his shaking grip, 'it was taken on the day that he allowed me to walk behind him, and, without being corny, it shows the trust that we had with each other.'

Tony smiled, a plan forming in his mind. 'I think it's wonderful,' he said, 'I've never been around horses before, but after hearing you talk about them like you have, I wouldn't be opposed to spending some time with them.'

Stephen brightened. 'I haven't been around them since I went to college,' he said, 'and I would love to get back around them again with the man that I love the most.' He leaned into Tony and pressed his lips to his forehead, smiling brightly. Tony laughed and returned the kiss when Stephen pulled back from him.

'Then that's what we'll do.'


	2. Chapter 2

A few days later, Tony sent Stephen a text.

_Put some old clothes on, get a portal ready, we're going out - T xxx_

The sorcerer frowned. Thankfully, Wong said that he could take care of any dimension fighting, and Stephen went to find some old clothes. He ended up putting some jeans on and a green t-shirt that had a rip across the chest. Where that rip had come from was unknown to him. He pulled on some trainers and cast a portal to Tony's living room. As he stepped through, he called the engineer's name. 'Tony? What's all this about?'

Tony appeared in an AC/DC shirt and some loose-fitting trousers. His hair was damp as though he hadn't long stepped out of the shower. 'Oh, hey,' he said, walking over to Stephen and kissing him on the cheek (Stephen bent down a little to accommodate for their height difference). 'Are you gonna be alright with being in a car?' he asked.

'Why can't we use a portal?' the sorcerer asked.

'Because then you'd know what we're gonna do and that's not my intention.'

Stephen pursed his lips. 'I can try, but we might need to stop every so often.'

Tony nodded and took Stephen's hand. 'That's fine,' he said.

They went out to Tony's car, Stephen asking questions that Tony refused to answer, and got into their respective seats. Stephen shut his eyes and tried to meditate through his fear, which got him until Tony braked particularly hard to avoid a rabbit crossing the road. When Stephen opened his eyes, there were no other cars around, and they were on a country road. He had no idea how long they had been driving and he didn't know where they were either.

He relaxed a little, now that there were no other cars and tried to needle Tony for more information on where they were going. But Tony still wasn't answering.

They drove on for another half an hour, until they swung into a driveway. 'Shut your eyes,' Tony said as they went past a sign. Stephen obeyed.

Tony parked the car and opened his door, then ran around to open the passenger's door. He helped Stephen out of the car and walked him over somewhere. Then they stopped and the sorcerer was sniffing the air, trying to figure out where he had smelled that smell before.

'Open your eyes,' Tony said, a smile evident in his voice.

Stephen opened his eyes and his jaw dropped a little bit. In front of him, were paddocks. And in those paddocks were several horses of all different shapes and colours. He took it all in, assessing the horses, a few of the taller ones catching his eye, wondering why on earth Tony had brought him here. He looked down at his lover, eyes questioning.

'We're gonna be riding together,' the engineer said, grinning at the disbelief on his boyfriend's face.

His mouth quivered, trying desperately to form words. In the end all he could stammer out was a weak, 'What?'

'The people that work here have agreed to let us have a lesson together, and they said that they wanted to see how well you rode before we went on a hack... I think that was the term they used.'

'Oh my god...' the sorcerer said, 'what are we waiting for? Let's go!'

Tony laughed at the sight of the Sorcerer Supreme buzzing with energy, like an excited kid. He walked over to a woman that was waiting for them and introduced them. The woman's name was Rose.

'Okay, now, Stephen,' she said, looking up at the sorcerer, 'how far did you progress with your riding?'

'By the time I left for college, I was able to jump at least a wall,' he replied.

'So you're confident that you can walk, trot, canter and gallop?' she asked.

'It'll take me a minute to get used to it again, but yes, I think so.'

'Wonderful,' Rose said, then turned to Tony, 'and you've never ridden before, right?'

'Right,' the engineer said.

'Well, I'll let Stephen do his own thing to get used to riding again in the outdoor school, while you and me will be in the indoor school, teaching you the basics,' she said with a beaming smile, 'now for the fun part: let's get your horses.'

The three of them went into the barn and Stephen petted all of the long noses that greeted them as they walked. Rose handed them riding hats, which they both put on, and then she looked down at their trainers and shook her head. She disappeared for a moment and then returned with two pairs of riding boots. Once they were properly dressed, she led them over to a stable.

'This is Jake,' Rose said, stopping at the stable of a bay horse with a white blaze. The horse was about average height, but too short for Stephen's longer legs. 'This will be Tony's horse; he's a lovely beginner horse, he'll take care of you.'

Rose then beckoned Stephen over to another stall, where a very tall horse poked his head out to meet them. The horse was a dark black, with a wiggling stripe down his face and two white socks on his back legs. 'This is Titan,' she said as Stephen held out his hand to the horse, who snuffled at his palm, 'don't let his name or height intimidate you; he's a very easy-going horse, but sometimes needs a little bit of encouragement to get going.'

'He's beautiful,' the sorcerer said, smiling as Titan lifted his nose to nibble at Stephen's hair.

Rose smiled to see the pair getting along so well and went into a room, where she emerged with a set of tack. 'This is Titan's stuff,' she said, 'you ride English, right?' When Stephen nodded, she put the saddle on the door. 'Do you remember how to tack up?' Stephen thought for a moment and then nodded again. 'I'll go and help Tony then,' she said. Stephen didn't wait for her to come back out of the tack room; he stepped into the stable and lifted the saddle onto Titan's back.

It didn't take him long to do up the girth, using a little of his magic to make it slide around Titan's barrel chest a little easier. Then he moved onto the bridle. Titan took the bit in his mouth with a little encouragement, and chewed at it while Stephen was fastening straps. 'Do not try and get your tongue over that,' he scolded, 'it won't be very nice.' Titan snorted and stopped chewing.

Stephen popped his head out of the stable and looked down at where Tony's horse was. He could hear some complaining and chuckled as he realised that Tony was probably trying to get the bit into Jake's mouth without having his hand bitten. He slipped out of the stable and walked over to see that Tony was pushing at the bit, but Jake wasn't opening his mouth. He giggled quietly to himself and watched as Rose caught Jake's head and pushed her thumb into the side of the horse's mouth, who opened his mouth to let Tony push the bit in. Tony glared at Stephen, who had been giggling a little louder. 'Shut up, you,' he said, a smile on his face.

Once both horses were tacked up, Stephen and Tony led them outside over to the mounting block. Tony went over to the larger one, while Stephen used the shorter one, his long legs being strong enough to lift him up over Titan's back. He mounted with an ease that surprised him and looked over to see how Tony was getting on, as he got himself comfortable and sorted out his reins. Tony got on easily with the help of the larger mounting block and Rose went and helped him to hold his reins properly, then she clipped a bright orange lead rope onto Jake's bridle.

She led them over to the schools, and directed Stephen into the outdoor school. 'Before I disappear with Tony, I just want to see you walk and trot a couple of laps,' Rose asked.

The sorcerer nodded, and set to starting to walk around the arena. He focused on relaxing his posture, while still holding himself correctly. He walked one lap and then squeezed his legs to go into a trot. He grinned as, instinctively, he went into rising and falling in the rhythm that he had been taught all those years ago and trotted for another lap.

'Let's see a canter!' Rose called, smiling at the sight of Stephen riding with ease. Tony was grinning too as he saw how happy riding made his boyfriend.

Stephen urged Titan into a canter and he made sure to lean back. He was transported back in time, to when he had been riding Pie like this. Titan was a lot calmer than Pie had ever been, but he was quite similar too; they both had very bouncy and forward-going gaits, like they were trying to get somewhere as quickly as possible. Stephen pulled his head away from the past and focused on the black horse underneath him now instead of the skewbald.

Rose and Tony were clapping, both overjoyed that Stephen was back in the saddle, where he was happiest. They disappeared into the indoor school, where Tony struggled to control Jake. But Stephen wasn't thinking about that, he was lining up for a jump. It was a beginner's jump but that was all he wanted. He cantered towards it, leaning forward into the jumping position and then he was flying. He felt as free as a bird, and just as high as one. He soared for a few moments before he thudded back down to earth, and he cantered away, back round the arena.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I only wrote these guys riding English, because I don't know how to ride Western.
> 
> Kudoses and comments are appreciated :^)


End file.
